Quick Pita in Georgetown

Well, I've started what I anticipate to be an extremely busy semester (we'll see how posting goes...). Today I was on campus getting work done, and around 6:30 wanted something to eat. Since I don't live around Georgetown I'm not that familiar with all of the good deals around campus (with the exception of a few frequented spots). Since I wanted to take as short a break as possible, but was in the mood for a kebab or somesuch, I opted to go to Quick Pita instead of our favorite, Moby Dick's. I had heard of the place before but it had taken one (aborted) trip to the restaurant to convince me that it was worth trying. The name along is more evocative of Subway-esque sandwiches than of cheap and tasty Middle Eastern food of Moby Dick's ilk.

Upon entering, the fact that the take-out menu had cedar trees dotting the "i's" in "Quick Pita" and that I overheard the staff speaking in Arabic and French signaled the Lebanese character of the place.

My friend V, a devotee of Quick Pita ("I've tried everything on the menu"), had recommended that I get the "okra with rice," and I decided to try it (even though I was tempted by the cheaper gyro or kifta kebab), and ordered a yogurt drink to wash it down. Turns out that it was named in a similar fashion to NYC's infamous street food classic "Chicken Rice" (as I understand Long Islanders refer to it as). "Okra with rice" turned out to be a stew containing chunks of boneless lamb and little baby okra in a tangy tomato-based gravy. Overall, it was a very satisfying meal (and I opted to not read about conversational style in order to focus on eating!) and affordable, at $7.95. Even though the dish was not like anything I'd had at Moby Dick, I couldn't help comparing the rice (about the same, only sans butter pat and saffron) and the bread (a little stale and not worth finishing).

To sum up: They're open until 3am on weekdays and 4:30am on weekends, the staff is really friendly, and it's both closer to campus and cheaper than Moby Dick's. Quibbles about the bread aside, I suspect I will be eating more than a few meals at Quick Pita in the months ahead.

Quick Pita: 1210 Potomac in Georgetown, just off of M street (on the north side).

Winter salad idea

A simple, Moroccan-esque salad for the winter. I ate this alongside a thick slice of veggie frittata for dinner last night.

1-2 carrots, peeled (if large winter carrots) and grated
currants, to taste (raisins would also work just fine)

dressing:
about a Tablespoon of lemon juice
olive oil
cayenne pepper (just a pinch)
about a teaspoon of honey
freshly ground black pepper

toss in a bowl, chill, and serve (the flavors mingle better if chilled first).

To try: add chopped walnuts.

Homemade sausage

Happy New Year! I'm back in Washington state for the holiday. Today I made venison sausage with my father-in-law (a mixture of pork shoulder and deer meat from his hunting trip to eastern Montana this past November).

Now I get to check "make my own sausage" off of my food to-do list...

Pictures to come...